The Blitz Star
by Umi
Summary: ~Set before the game, in Zanarkand~The Abes are playing what seems to be a normal Blitzball game, when one opponent takes it a step farther into a full blown rivalry.


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Not for consumption. Better when read.

I do not own Final Fantasy X.

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The Blitz Star

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"It's a beautiful night for Blitzball, folks!!" The announcer shouted over the roaring screams of the audience. "Tonight's match features the Abes from A-east!!" The cheering flared up. "They'll be taking on a brand new team in their debut, this evening!! Let's hear it for the Blades from B-south!!" The crowd gave another roar as the sphere pool began to take shape in the center of the arena.

Tidus slowly opened his eyes, the cheering exciting him for the game. His head tilted forwards as he got off the bench and joined the rest of the Abes, making a grand entrance into the sphere pool. The blonde plunged into the water headfirst, the roaring of the crowd becoming muffled. Tidus swam forwards, seeing the opposing team approaching from the other side of the huge mass of water. Their red uniforms were difficult to miss in the clear liquid. Each of the Blades wore a pair of dark goggles over their eyes, making it difficult to read their expressions, not that they made many. He silently noted that there was but one girl on their team, playing goalie.

He took his position, as did the other players. He looked across from himself, seeing the Blades' left forward. He wore his red uniform slightly different than the other players, goggles hanging around his neck instead of over his eyes and a particularly nasty looking piece of armor over his right arm. This player had deep burgundy hair, cut short and spiked.

The man opposite him stared back at Tidus, also doing a preliminary examination of his opponents before the ball was launched. The blonde flinched at the look in the red head's eyes, almost wishing the man would pull up his goggles so his green orbs would be hidden. If Tidus hadn't know better, he would have definitely said the player was scowling at him...

The ball launched quite suddenly, catching the distracted Tidus off guard. He took off like a shot, seeing that the Blades' midfielder had nabbed it. He went in for a steal, but was knocked out of the way. He caught a glimpse of red hair from the corner of his eye as he went off swimming again.

The Abes intercepted the ball, passing back and forth and weaving through the other team's players with ease. Tidus received a pass, swimming closer to the goal for a better shot, muffled cheering giving him a burst of adrenaline. 'Can't let the fans down....'

He was cut short abruptly as the left forward of the Blades swam into him, head-on. The ball slipped from his grasp while the red head shoved him back through the water. It took him but a second to recover before he went chasing after. It was like the red head was going after him, specifically...

The player made a pass to one of his teammates, who booked for the Abes' goal. The Abes, of course, were on him in an instant. Tackles and various other techniques did not hinder the player significantly as he kept breaking through. The Abes finally cornered him, though, and he made a desperate pass to a teammate. Surprisingly enough, the pass made it to the other Blades' member as Tidus went in for a tackle. 

He swam closer and closer to the ball carrier, making a swoop underneath and coming up in front. He shifted with exquisite timing, causing the player to smash into his armored shoulder. He closed his hands around the ball tightly and made a long pass to another team member. The player shot Tidus a signal to go for a Sphere Shot. His response was to swim towards the top of the sphere pool for the shot.

The blonde burst through the water's surface, flying upwards, and turning over gracefully in mid air. He could see the ball coming upside-down and knew it had been timed perfectly. He was still in mid-flip as something rammed into him hard, wrecking the shot and sending him spiraling back down into the sphere pool. His back burned with pain where he had been hit, his surprise causing him to suck in a mouthful of water. He relaxed his chest, spitting the water out and keeping his breath held. Ignoring the pain radiating through his lower back, he swam off once more, seeing that the red headed Blades' member had the ball. The mere idea that _he_ had the nerve to wreck the Sphere Shot only made Tidus swim faster.

Before he could reach the ball carrier, the halftime tone sounded through the water. The rest of the Abes swam over to the blonde and then out of the sphere pool for some air. The team emerged in the airlock, soaking wet. 

"Tidus, you okay?" Sashiya inquired. She had been the one to request the sphere shot. He nodded numbly. 

"...Who...rammed me?" he asked her hesitantly, anger building inside of him. 

"The Blades' left forward, Rino." He sat down heavily on one of the benches in the room. He growled in frustration. 

"I feel like that guy is targeting me, or something!!" he cried, carefully leaning his aching back against the wall. She frowned, flipping some of her long red braids out of her face.

"Hadn't you noticed...? He followed you for the whole first half. Maybe he's jealous...." Tidus put a hand to his forehead.

"Jealous...? Of what?!"

"You, stupid! Star player of Zanarkand's best Blitz team!!" A tone echoed throughout the small room, alerting the team to the beginning of the second half. Sashiya turned to him, the smallest hint of worry in her eyes. "Look, maybe you should try to stay away from him..."

"I can probably _try_, but I don't know how much good it would do." He muttered as he got to his feet and moved towards the door to the sphere pool.

"Just don't get yourself hurt, hotshot." He nodded, almost dissmissingly, before turning away and going for the air lock.

"Hey!! Sashiya!! Come on!!" another team member called to her. She sighed, following the rest of the Abes into the Sphere pool once more.

*******************************

The competition was fierce as the end of the game came ever nearer. It was 1:30 into the second half and Rino had already tackled Tidus four times. This wasn't counting the tackles from the first half, either. The blonde was growing more and more sore as the swimming irritated his abused muscles.

Sashiya's four long braids swirled around her as she twisted away from a Blades' player with the ball. Tidus quickly made himself open, noting that the rest of the Abes had problems of their own. The ball shot towards his waiting arms. He grabbed it and flipped over, turning towards the Blades' goal. It was quite obvious that he could never make a shot from where he was and if he didn't score in the next three minutes, the game would be a stalemate. He swam quickly, catching a glimpse of some Blades players swimming after him. The blonde still wasn't in range, so he tried to throw them off as he dove low and twisted away from their grabbing arms. In a fluid movement he propelled himself upwards curving along the side of the sphere pool and coming in for a shot.

A flash of red was all he saw before a metal covered shoulder embedded itself in his stomach with incredible force behind it. The air was knocked out of him, causing a bubbling trail to be left in his wake as he was propelled through the water. His hands had dropped the ball long ago, the person who had tackled him still pushing with all their might. They stopped abruptly as the two reached the edge of the sphere pool, yet Tidus was still hurtling through the water from the sheer force of the blow. He felt himself crash through the wall of the sphere pool, air surrounding him. He took a gasping breath, only to have it knocked from him again as he smashed into the cement wall of the stadium.

The blonde crashed into the stadium wall with a sickening smack. His body exploded with pain, but he fell limply forwards and made the 10-foot drop into the bleachers already unconscious.

The crowd screamed and shouted; the announcer desperately called for a medic to get on the scene; Rino scored a goal. 

The crowd that had been sitting where Tidus fell was panicked, seeing him unconscious. Two medics rushed through and bent over the blonde with worried expressions. They did a quick examination as the Abes made a quick exit from the sphere pool. The whole rest of the team bounded out, only to be shooed away. 

"Be calm everyone, the medics have arrived on the scene!!" the announcer told the crowd.

The gray haired doctor frowned worriedly, seeing the trickles of blood running down Tidus' forehead. The Abes protested fiercely to the man in white who held them back from their teammate. All held their breath as they watched Tidus being lifted onto a stretcher and carried away. 

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"....And just his evening the Abes of A-east were beaten by the Blades of B-south. It is indeed quite a shock to see one of the most talented teams in Zanarkand lose 3-0 against a team making their debut. Unfortunately, many say it was the result of an accident during the second half of the game. The Abes' star player, Tidus, was going for a shot when he was thrown out of the sphere pool and into the stadium wall by a tackle from a Blades' team member. It has been declared an accident, so neither the player, nor the team was penalized. Tidus, however, was injured and unable to participate in the rest of the match...."

The radio burst apart as it connected with the wall. 

"It's all about _Tidus_...." he snarled, scowling at the trashed circuitry of the radio. "When will recognition be mine?! I scored the winning goal!! I scored ALL of the goals!! I wasn't even mentioned as the one who knocked that little blonde out of the water!!" He shouted in anger, stomping on the radio bits.

"Next time, Tidus..." he mumbled. "....I'll hit harder. Maybe then I'll get some attention."

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"How is he?" One of the Abes inquired of the doctor in their midst. The man in white frowned. He was feeling extremely uncomfortable having an entire, soaking-wet, large and muscular Blitzball team hanging around the hospital. 

"Well," he began, hoping it would help them leave more quickly, "....There is a wound on the back of his head, from either hitting the wall or the ground, besides the cracked rib, which may have been from all of the tackles....Basically, he's going to feel like one huge bruise tomorrow."

"Can we see him....?" Sashiya asked. The doctor frowned, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"I'm sorry, but even if he were conscious I'd have to say no."

"Hey...!! How come?!" another of the Abes exclaimed. 

"The poor kid is entitled to some rest after tonight, don't you agree?" 

********************************

His eyes open slightly. They were glazed over in pain as he stared up at the ceiling of the room. He was lying in bed, which was nice, but he seemed to be lacking a shirt. All of him ached; maybe it had not been quite so bad earlier because of the numbing effects of the cold water in the sphere pool. Right now, however, it felt like someone had smacked him with a gigantic fly swatter. He groaned, attempting to lift a sore arm to his forehead. It dropped limply to his side. His strength was draining away...

He closed his eyes in concentration, trying to remember what had happened....He had absolutely no doubts about who had gone to the trouble of throwing him out of the sphere pool. Only one thing troubled him now: why would Rino be so eager to get Tidus out of the game? Why did he specifically chase after the blonde? Just so he could tackle him at every opportunity? Did he knock Tidus out of the sphere pool **_hoping_** he would be hurt....?

He exhaled heavily, feeling his chest tighten painfully. His gaze shifted to his left arm. It had been covered in armor so it was fine. The other arm was wrapped tightly in bandages. He flexed it carefully; it probably got cut when he hit the ground.

His already sore head began to pound as he closed his eyes. He squeezed them shut, hoping Rino's contract with the Blades would expire very quickly...

'Ugh, what if another team signs him?' He groaned in realization.

**********************************

Tidus groaned, not wanting to get out of bed. The only thing making him want to move at all was thought of ending the annoying sound of his doorbell ringing. "I'm coming..." he mumbled sleepily. He sat up, making the pounding in his head escalate. It's nice to be home when you're hurt, but only when you don't live alone. He climbed to his feet slowly, his sore body protesting against every movement. He walked to his front door carefully; the ringing had stopped, but for all his troubles he hoped there was someone out there... 

He leaned against the wall for support, reaching for the doorknob. He undid the lock and swung it open, squinting against the sunlight flooding inside. "Tidus!!" he heard a female voice. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" Sashiya let herself in, closing the door behind her. The blonde rubbed at his eyes with a hand.

"I was..."

"You make it sound like it was all my fault, don't you?" The red head tilted down her sunglasses on her nose, noting that her teammate probably wouldn't make it across the room again on his own. She took his arm and swung it over her shoulder, helping him to the center of the living room. They sat down around the table in the middle of the room. The blonde put his throbbing head on top of his arms, leaning onto the table, as the red head looked across at him. "He really got you, last night..." she began.

"You can say that again..." he agreed, still resting his blonde head on his arms.

"Everybody else says to feel better, but nobody wanted to have the whole team bust in on you. And don't worry about the game....it wasn't your fault we lost, or anything." He lifted his head from his arms and looked straight across at her.

"We lost...?" he repeated, anger burning inside of him. "We lost to the Blades?" She nodded.

"Rino scored the first point right after knocking you out of the sphere pool. He kept playing after he knocked you out, totally taking advantage of the fact that our whole team was swimming out to see if you were dead, or not."

"Everyone?" he asked, almost disbelievingly. She smirked.

"Even the goalie. They only got the point because 'all of the Abes were still in the sphere pool when the actual goal was scored.' Man, you should've heard the crowd," she told him, remembering how three-fourths of the audience had been booing the Blades after that. "I think everybody was pretty upset....we had to put in Kard to replace you...everything went downhill from there." He sighed tiredly; Kard was the Abes' backup goalie.

"That Rino guy must really dislike me..." he mumbled, putting his head in his arms once more. "He practically tackled me into oblivion...." the blonde trailed off as he heard his front door open and then close.

"You should've dodged." Tidus groaned. He didn't even need to look up to see Auron standing in the doorway. 

"I didn't see him..." he mumbled in response.

"That's a lame excuse." He stomped down into the living room and over to the table. He stole a glance at Sashiya. "Shouldn't you be resting?" he inquired gruffly. Tidus groaned again and Sashiya frowned.

"Sheesh, such a stiff...Catch you later, Tidus." She climbed to her feet and went for the exit. The blonde didn't respond as he listened to the front door close.

"...Pay closer attention, next time."

"You can't dodge 'em all..." the blonde muttered angrily, getting to his feet slowly and making his way back to bed.

'I'll get that Rino.....' he told himself as he pulled the covers of his bed around himself and drifted off to sleep.

*********************************

Auron stood in the doorway of Tidus' room, looking down at the sleeping blonde. He almost frowned, remembering last night's game. The blonde probably wasn't aware, but Auron always went to them. Watching Tidus fly out of the sphere pool and into a wall was something he had not expected to see. He adjusted his sunglasses, turning to go to the kitchen. Auron figured he could at least make the damn kid some tea....

A knock sounded in the room just as Auron entered. He turned to the front door, frowning. That girl had left 20 minutes ago, hadn't she? He stood there, listening to the knocking. He silently debated whether or not to answer it. Letting his conscience win this time, he reluctantly opened the door. He raised an eyebrow at the tall and fairly muscular blonde standing before him. 

"...Yes?" Auron struggled to be polite. The 17-year old standing across from him ran a hand through his bright yellow hair, only to have the tall spikes all spring back into place.

"Umm..." he began. Auron grit his teeth. "...Is Tidus around?" 

"He's asleep. You'll have to come back some other time," he responded, grasping the doorknob tightly.

"Uh..." The teen looked disappointed. "Uhm, sorry...Just tell him I dropped by...ok?" Auron nodded stiffly before closing the door. He muttered something about 'yellow hair' before going towards the kitchen again. 

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Tidus stared up at his ceiling. It wasn't very interesting, but doing it didn't hurt. It hurt to move...it hurt earlier, too. He hadn't moved for a while. The blonde rolled off his bed, grimacing as his cracked rib protested. 

"Oww..." he groaned as he slowly climbed to his feet. He glanced down to his clock. Sashiya had left 3 hours ago and he had slept practically the whole time....His thoughts were interrupted as his stomach growled. He made his way towards the kitchen; maybe he wasn't feeling as good as he had thought. 

He leaned on the counter for support wondering what he would eat...he caught a glimpse of something on the counter in the corner of his eye: Auron had made him tea. Great. He sighed, figuring it must be cold by now...He turned back to the tea, seeing a note next to it.

__

Some kid with yellow hair dropped by...looked like one of your teammates. 

Tidus considered for a moment...yellow hair..? 

"Kard..." he sighed, tossing the note aside. Tidus was almost glad he had missed him.

*********************************

The phone rang waking the blonde from his slumber. He groaned, reaching over to pick it up. He grimaced as his chest stung with pain. He lay back down in bed and held the receiver to his ear.

"Hello...?" Tidus asked wearily.

"Hey man, it's Kard..." The blonde held back a groan. "Look I dropped by earlier but..."

"Yeah...I know. So what's up?"

"Well....you know that Rino guy?" Tidus clenched his teeth. "I used to live in B south, so we went to school together." He sat up in bed.

"You went to school with him?!" He wrapped his arm around his middle gingerly, flinching.

"Yeah. We used to hang out a lot..." he continued. "I just wanted to warn you about that guy...." Tidus rolled his eyes, laying back down.

"Don't worry, I can tell he doesn't like me..." 

"...It's not really you...just famous people. He always wanted to be famous, so he had this obsession with hating famous people..." Tidus raised an eyebrow.

"....Okay...."

"No, I know it sounds stupid....but Rino never got credit for anything he did. His name was never mentioned anywhere or anything....he was the king of bad luck. All he wanted was for people to talk."

"So....?" the blonde trailed off, not seeing a point to this.

"...Now that he's on a major Blitz team, he's trying to get noticed."

"What? You think he knocked me out of the sphere pool just to get some attention...?"

"Well, uhm....since you're such a famous blitzer....and on top of that, you're a famous blitzer who's a son of a famous blitzer...."

"Don't tell me. He's out to get me, right?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. 

"Look, I dunno...just....watch out." 

"Don't worry...you're about the tenth person to tell me that." He sighed.

"....Okay. I gotta go. Later."

"Later." Tidus hung up the phone. 

'Obsession with hating famous people...pah...' He painfully climbed out of bed and went to get some water.

***************************

"....You sure you can practice?" Aria inquired suspiciously. Tidus crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He reached his arms over his head, stretching. "See? Just fine." He plastered the smile firmly on his face to keep from flinching. The blonde wasn't _totally_ fine, but he missed Blitzball in the worst way. 

"Pssh...fine. I don't care. If you get yourself hurt..." she mumbled. She ran a hand through her short gold hair as she turned away from him. The blonde had missed several practices and even a game while he had been injured. Tidus grinned proudly as he followed her towards the water. "Hey!!" she shouted to the practicing Abes as they clomped down the dock. "He has returned!!" All heads turned from what they were doing.

"Tidus? You're going to practice?" Sashiya inquired as she swam over to the dock. He nodded down at her.

"Don't want me to get out of shape, do you?" He smirked before kicking a Blitzball on the dock up to his hands. He spun it on his finger a few times before tossing it up and kicking it out. It bounced off Kard's spiked head before hitting the water's surface. The youth was a bit dazed as he put a hand to his head.

"Wooah..." he mumbled, re-sharpening his yellow spikes. "Tidus....you practicing?" Aria smacked herself in the forehead miserably. 

"Aren't you paying attention to anything?!" she cried at him. He blinked in response.

"Uhm...."

"Nevermind!!" she shouted again. She turned back to Tidus. "Funny what a great goalie he is when the guy's practically brain dead..." she mumbled. She dove into the water again. He smirked, diving in after her. "Everybody!!" she shouted, waving them over. "Remember, we've got a game tomorrow night!!" The blonde's mouth dropped open.

"We do?!" She frowned.

"No. _We_ do. You aren't playing."

"And why not?" he asked, disgruntled. She narrowed her brown eyes at him.

"Okay..." she started again, ignoring Tidus for the moment. "Kard, you're playing goalie...Nida caught the flu. And Kou, you'll be left-forward, but just for tomorrow night." Tidus frowned. _He_ was left-forward. "Okay, now get back to practice!!" Each of the team members swam off in a different direction, tossing Blitzballs back and forth and practicing catches. 

"Hey!!" Tidus called to Aria before she could get away. "What's with you?!" She gained a menacing look.

"Don't you give me that!!" she told him. "First of all, you haven't played for ages and second of all, I saw your bottled flinch, earlier. Now shut up and practice, already!!" The brunette turned her back, preparing to leave.

"...I really hate it when you do that." Aria smirked as she swam away.

******************************

Tidus sighed as he leaned against the wall of the locker room. There was a window inside with a great view into the sphere pool, but it wasn't the same when you weren't playing. He frowned, watching Kou score a goal against the green-clad Schilds of D-north. 

"This isn't fair..." he mumbled, plopping down on a bench. He fussed with the armor on his left arm boredly, wishing the game would just end so he could leave and spare himself. Absent-mindedly, he glanced up to the window to the sphere pool. His eyes widened as he jumped up from the bench; he had looked up just in time to see Aria, the Abes midfielder, smashed in-between two of the huge Schilds, the ball slipping from her hands. 

He approached the window to the sphere pool; it looked like she had been knocked unconscious. The blonde sighed in frustration as he watched Kou drag her towards the airlock. Quickly, he went and opened the door for them. The pair emerged, soaking wet.

"Damn Schilds..." Aria mumbled angrily, being helped onto a bench by Kou. The brunette turned to Tidus, his dripping hair hanging at the tops of his shoulders.

"I don't think she'll make it through the last two minutes." The blonde nodded. Aria sat on the bench with her head in her hands, eyes closed tightly.

"Fine, you stupid jerk..." she mumbled. "...Go...play yur damn position..." she slurred, stretching out on the bench. Kou looked to Tidus.

"Since you're the only one on the bench, you'll have to replace her. I'll play midfielder." The blonde nodded, feeling a smirk coming on. Kou smiled. "You're a better left-forward than me, anyhow."

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"If we don't score another point, we'll lose." Kou informed Tidus sullenly. The blonde nodded as the airlock door sealed behind them. Water rushed in as the two swam out and took their positions. The blonde could vaguely hear the announcer's muffled voice and some slurred cheering as he got into position. The large yellow lettering "BLITZ OFF!!" flashed on the stadium monitors as the blue and white ball launched from the center of the sphere pool.

Kou raced for it, snatching it away before the massive Schilds' midfielder could grab it. He quickly tossed it to Sashiya, the right-forward, before the green-clad midfielder could steal it. The Schild tackled him anyway, but the redhead received the pass. She took off towards the Schilds' goal, weaving gracefully through the water. She was much too fast for any of the bulky and slow Schilds to tackle. 

Her braids twisted around her, their yellowish tips glimmering in the clear water. She made a quick pass to Tidus, who caught the ball easily. The blonde literally flew through the water, making a beeline for the goal. He was almost there when a flash of green caught the corner of his eye. He threw himself back through the water, avoiding a tackle. 

Bubbles spouted from his open mouth as another Schild knocked the wind out of him from the back. His grip on the ball was loosening. Panicking, he looked desperately for someone to pass to. He chucked the ball towards the Abes left-defense, Shin. The lights or the stadium reflected off his dark goggles as he caught the ball. His short black hair floated in every direction as he kicked the ball towards the goal with all his might.

The Schild goalie, who barely even fit in the goal because of his size, intercepted the ball, tossing it to another Schild. Shin flinched as he watched the Schild plow through Tidus and Sashiya, gripping the ball firmly. He braced himself for impact as he dove down at the horridly large blitzer. Shin was known for a strong tackle, but this was just ridiculous. He smashed into the bulky and muscular Schild, at least putting him into a momentary daze.

The Abes' right-defense, Rude, followed after Shin, also crashing into the ball carrier. Sashiya made a grab for the ball as she swam by, successfully stealing it. She flipped over, back on course to the Schilds' goal. She darted between the Schilds' two defenses, alternately dodging tackles. She spotted Tidus' blonde head out of the corner of her eye, spinning and making a pass to him. Her eyes flew to the clock on top of the scoreboard. Tidus had twenty seconds to make a shot. 

The blonde, totally oblivious to the time remaining, was attempting to get by the Schilds' right defense when he felt his heartbeat speed up. He broke to the huge Schild and kicked the ball toward the goal hard. It sliced through the water, flying straight.

The goalie shifted nervously as the ball sped towards him. He panicked, leaping to block too early. It sped right by his hands and into the net. A tone echoed through the water, alerting the teams to the end of the game. Tidus floated there in shock, for a second, before realizing that he had made the shot before the tone sounded. It was good.

******************************

Rino clenched his fist tightly.

"....And tonight the Abes star player made a grand re-appearance during the second half of a game against the Schilds of D-north. Tidus was returning from an injury, but that still did not stop him from scoring the winning point for his team..." the reported chirped from the TV.

"I can't get rid of him!!" he cried angrily, putting a hand to his forehead. "Why is it?! Why, TIDUS?! Star player of Zanarkand's best Blitzball team...son of Jecht....all around hero....blonde with blue eyes!!" He punched his fist into the wall. "I can't stand it!!" he shouted, covering his ears with his hands. "Just you wait!! I'll show them you're not so great!! Our next game!!! That's when!!" he cried, punching the wall once more.

*******************************

Tidus gave a satisfied sigh as he walked down the street, out towards his home on the water. He put his hands behind his head as he arched his back. "Uuuuuaaahhhh...." he yawned, as he stretched. His chest didn't bother him in the least, any more, and after seeing him play Aria had been convinced of this, too.

He smiled as he strolled down the brightly-lit streets. Everything was going his way tonight. He stopped walking suddenly as a noise reached his ears. It had been a quiet sound, yet it stopped at the same time as he did. It made him wonder if he was being followed....The blonde spun around, meeting the gaze of a pair of brown eyes. 

"Aria?!" he exclaimed. The girl nodded, bleached hair blowing a bit in the breeze.

"I've been tailing you since you left the stadium, stupid."

"Sorry...if you wanted to talk to me...."

"Look, Tidus...." she began, interrupting him. "Remember Rino? Left-forward on the Blades?" He laughed harshly.

"How could I forget?" Her expression was serious.

"Kard was talking about that guy...." The blonde crossed his arms as he listened to her. "....He sounds like a complete nut-job. We're going to be playing the Blades again before the season ends..." He nodded.

"I know....and Kard told me about that guy, too."

"Yeah....I knew I didn't like him from the first time I saw him. He was totally scowling at you in the lineup." Tidus smirked.

"You noticed that, too?" Aria cracked a smile. "So....is this why you followed me?"

"I'm not done, stupid." She glared at him before continuing. "....It really seems like that Rino is up to something, though....does he give you that feeling? I mean, he certainly has some sorta dislike for you already....you two have a bad history or something?"

"I dunno...." the blonde answered truthfully. "I never knew about him before we played the Blades...." She frowned, crossing her arms.

"That's weird.....but I better get home before I collapse, or something...." she smirked, wrapping an arm around her middle. He could see purple bruises forming on her exposed mid-drift. 

"You gonna make it alright?" he asked skeptically. She frowned.

"What do I look like to you? A damn piece 'a porcelain?!" Tidus turned and shouted a 'later!' back at her before he was on his way home again.

*****************************

"Wuuhhh....?" he mumbled, being woken from a sound sleep by the phone's incessant ringing. "Can't I ever sleep in?" he grumbled as he rolled over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" he asked wearily.

"Tidus, great you're up!!" Sashiya sounded just a bit _too _excited at seven in the morning.

"Yeah...sure...." He lay back in bed once more, tugging the blankets up around him.

"Well, I have some bad news and some....more bad news, I guess...." She sounded sheepish. He sighed, exasperatedly.

"I guess I'll take the bad news first then...."

"Um, okay....well, we're going to be playing the Blades a bit sooner than we expected...." He sat straight up in bed.

"But we just played them!!" he cried desperately into the mouthpiece. 

"Look, I don't know how it happened either....our schedules were wrong and the Duggles are playing someone else." 

"The Duggles..." he murmured. The blonde jumped out of bed and ran to find his Blitzball schedule. His finger traced down the list of team names. "We play them the week after next?! I don't believe this!!" he cried frustratedly.

"I know, I know....Aria told me it's because of the Jecht Memorial Cup Tournament, remember? We beat round one against the Schilds...?"

"Augh....I don't believe this!! The Old man strikes again..." he mumbled the last part.

"Hey!! Don't forget, more bad news...." He moaned loudly, plopping down in a chair. "It turns out Nida has something a lot worse than the flu, so he's out for at least a week or two, more."

"Great...so Kard's playing goalie?"

"Don't be rough on the guy....he's a good goalie!!"

"Yeah....." he murmured, loosening his grip on the phone.

"Hey...." she paused. "I have to go. Talk to you later."

"Bye." He pressed the 'talk' button on the phone, tossing it aside. The blonde heaved a heavy sigh, going back to bed. If he went to sleep and woke up again, then it would all be just a nightmare...

***************************

He clomped down the dock in silence; he wasn't going to practice well today and he could tell already. Water splashed on him suddenly, causing him to snap to attention. 

"Get your head outta the clouds and into the water, blondie!!" Aria ordered. He ran a hand through his hair, smirking down at her. He jumped over her head and did a flip in midair, landing in the water with a splash. He emerged to see her scowling. "If you're any later next time, I'll make Kard left-forward." 

He sighed, watching her swim away. Tidus wasn't usually late...well, not all the time, anyhow. He kicked his legs swimming over to where the rest of the Abes were gathered in a circle, treading water. 

"...Okay now that our _ever-so-punctual_ star player is present, it's time to talk about the next game." Aria bellowed. He frowned, but she didn't notice. "We aren't playing the Duggles...." She saw Kou open his mouth partway. "...It was something stupid I'd rather not get into!!" she cried, too mad to talk about the faulty schedules. The brunette's jaw slammed shut once more. "....We're gonna to be playing the Blades..._again._" The group gave a collective sigh. 

"When's the game...?" Kard asked. The girl's eyebrows furrowed.

"Two weeks." 

"Woaah...." he mumbled, thoughtfully re-sharpening his yellow spikes. "...And I get to play _my _position this time, right?" 

"YES!! Now HUSH!!!" she cried. Kard didn't look affected in the slightest, eyes glazed over in thought as he stared into the water. "As you can tell, Nida's still sick, so Kard's goalie." A few sighs of relief spread among the Abes; Kard had been a completely lousy left-forward yet he hadn't let a single ball by in their game against the Schilds. "Kou, you're on the bench." He sighed. "Now back to practice!!" 

"Hey...." Aria turned to the source of the voice. "You think Tidus'll be able to hold up against that Rino guy again...?" Sashiya asked quietly so the blonde wouldn't hear her. 

"I dunno, but he's the only left-forward we got." She turned, her short bleached hair flinging water droplets around her. 

"Yeah, and if we lose him, we won't have one at all." Aria froze, snapping back around.

"Don't be stupid!! At worst he'll break another rib!!" Sashiya frowned.

"Do you _want_ that to happen?" 

"Just shut up and practice!!" She swung around and hurriedly swam away, leaving the red head to herself.

***************************

"Yo, Tidus!!" 

"Ah?!' His head spun around, causing the ball he was juggling to fall and smack him in the face. It splashed as it hit the water's surface.

"Ya know, about our game with the Blades...." Rude began as he swam over, closely followed by Shin. 

"Yeah?" the blonde asked. Rude re-tightened his long black ponytail as he spoke once more:

"Me and Shin were thinking..." The teenager behind him nodded, pulling down his dark goggles. 

"Since the Blades' left-forward seems to be going after you, maybe we could teach you some techniques to dodge him better, or at least hold up a little longer..." Shin told him. Tidus frowned.

"I think I did alright--"

"--until you crashed into that wall." The blonde frowned at him once more. 

"Fine, okay...." he conceded. "...Just what are you going to teach me? You two are left and right-defense--"

"--and we know tackles, so hush up and listen." Rude told him, sounding strangely like Aria. He flipped his long black bangs away from his face. "Okay!! Let's get started." Tidus swallowed as Shin cracked his knuckles. "Shin is going to play Rino and you're going to dodge him." Tidus sighed.

"Why did I agree to this...?" he mumbled. Rude frowned and splashed him.

"No turning back now.....Okay!!" he began. "...So when you see someone coming in for a head on charge, try twisting....like this....c'mere, Shin." The trio dove underwater, Rude demonstrating an amazing twist, cleanly avoiding Shin's tackle. Rude motioned for Tidus to try.

The blonde nodded, swimming over. He and Shin began charging each other, the black haired youth obviously tackling for real: all the more reason to dodge. Tidus twisted as he had seen Rude do; he could hear his back pop, even underwater, barely avoiding Shin. 

Rude shook his head sadly.

****************************

"Yo Rino." The red head turned at the call of his name. Kard was approaching from down the street, still wet from blitz practice.

"Hey, you come from practice?" he inquired of the goalie. Kard nodded in response, raking a hand through his yellow spikes. They walked down the street, exchanging a few words now and then, mostly about Blitzball, when the topic of their next game arose.

"....She's actually letting me play goalie this time..." Kard told him. 

"No offense, man, but you were a really bad left-forward...." Rino chuckled. 

"Tidus is pretty-much the only one on the team who's a decent left-forward...." Kard mumbled, grayish eyes watching the ground. Rino darkened at the mention of the blonde.

"What's so special about that guy, anyway?! I'm just as good as him, but nobody pays me half as much attention!!" the red head growled. The two of them made their way over to a coffee shop, plopping down at a table outside. "I still don't see how you put up with that team...Kard, man, the Blades would actually _appreciate_ a good goalie like you!!" The blonde shook his head.

"Nida's the best in the league. I'd never measure up. The best I can do is play under-study...." 

"Why do you put up with that?!" Rino cried, anger flaring in his green eyes. "You don't have to be second best all the time!!" Kard leaned back in his chair, considering. 

"What are you saying? Give up my spot on the best Blitz team in Zanarkand?" Rino's eyes narrowed.

"You're always like this...ever since we were freaking kids!!" Rino waved his arms for emphasis.

"Right back at you." His green eyes narrowed. The red head put his palms on the table and stood up, meaningfully.

"At least I've got some goddamn **_ambition_**...." He hissed, turning to leave.

"Rino..." Kard began, also getting up. "...If you don't back off, man, somebody's gonna deck you, someday--" Rino opened his mouth to retort but was cutoff as Kard spoke again: "--and it's gonna be beautiful."

"What the hell's gotten into you lately?!" The red head stepped closer, clenching his fists. "Why the hell do you care about that stupid team so much?!" 

"....I care about any team, when I'm on it." Kard turned then, preparing to leave. "....And if you go after Tidus like that again, the defense'll smash you." He then strolled away, leaving Rino in disbelief at his friend's words.

"Damnit...." he mumbled. He hated the Abes even more now, as it had royally screwed his friendship with Kard. "That's it...." he growled. "I'll show that Tidus punk....I'll show them all."

*****************************

"Are you ready for some Blitzball, Zanarkand?!" the announcer cried over the loudspeaker. A huge roar of screams and cheers answered. "I can't hear you!!" The screaming became deafeningly loud in response. "All right!! Let's hear it for the Abes!!! Tonight's challengers are....the Blades!!!!" If it had been possible, the cheering would've gotten louder. It continued on as the two teams plunged into the clear waters of the sphere pool.

Tidus felt a pang of anxiety for the game to start; it would be over more quickly, that way. He swam into position and glanced behind himself at Shin. The blonde could see a smirk on his face. Both he and Rude had spent countless practices training him to avoid tackles and fight them off. He had improved, but not significantly. He stole a quick look at Rino: the red head's green eyes were boring into him. Tidus furrowed his eyebrows, preparing for the worst.

BLITZOFF flashed in yellow lettering on the stadium monitors as the ball shot out of the center of the sphere pool. Aria raced for it, snatching it from the reach of the Blades' midfielder. The girl plowed through the red-clad player and heaved a pass towards Sashiya. The girl received it and took off towards the Blades' goal. A Blades member dove at her for a tackle but she did a graceful twist away and passed to Rude. 

His ponytail flew behind him as he lunged forwards through the water, ball tucked tightly under his arm. Several of the Blades came hurtling towards him through the water, suddenly; knowing they would steal, he chucked the ball towards Tidus and was mowed down by the three players anyhow. 

The blonde caught the pass easily and spun towards the goal. He had to get closer; their goalie did not look like she would be easy to get by. Bubbles erupted from his mouth as something crashed into his back. He was thrown forwards through the water yet he still held onto the ball. Tidus twisted to see none other than Rino diving through the water at him, once more. 

He kicked hard, propelling himself backwards and avoiding the tackle. Undaunted, the red head made a loop and came around behind. Tidus twisted magnificently and once more missed the tackle. Before Rino had the chance to attack again, the blonde took off through the water. The area was clear so he let the ball out of his hands and did an amazing spin kick, sending the ball through the water like a torpedo. It smashed into the goal easily, the Blades' goalkeeper looking dazed. A tone sounded, signaling the Abes' point.

Rude flashed him a thumbs up as the goalie threw the ball back into play. Tidus grinned in response. The Blitzball made a clear path towards one of the Blades but Aria dove in front and grabbed the ball before it could reach him. She spun and hurled it towards Shin. He grasped the ball in one hand, plowing through two Blades consecutively. Now that it was clear, he swam over for a hand-off to Rude. The black haired youth didn't even see the muscular Blades player before he tackled hard and ripped the ball away, leaving Rude with a sore spot on his side.

The Blades member busted through Sashiya and Shin before it met with Aria. She furrowed her eyebrows and smashed into him hard, making air bubbles fly from his open mouth. The ball dropped out of his grasp but Aria, still recovering from the tackle, couldn't grab it. Another of the Blades intercepted it instead. 

The red-clad teen took off towards the Abes' goal, then, and passed it to Rino. Rino passed back, and vice versa. He prepared to make the shot but the halftime tone sounded before he could even kick it. 

*************************** 

".....And that sound means Halftime!!!" the announcer cried as the Abes emerged in the airlock, dripping wet. 

"Damnit!!!" Aria cried, punching her fist into the wall of the locker room. "I could've gotten that!!!" 

"Sheesh, would you cool it? There was all of three seconds left, there...." Rude mumbled, sitting down on a bench. "Nice dodging, Tidus..." he congratulated. The blonde stretched his arms behind his head, grinning.

"That was truly beautiful..." Kard added, staring out the locker room window into the sphere pool.

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without you guys...." He eyed Rude and Shin, still grinning.

"Let's see how long you can keep it up, eh?" Sashiya smirked. The red head smirked as Aria grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the corner of the room.

"What'd I tell you?" she asked the girl quietly. "Tidus was whooping major ass out there." Sashiya smirked.

"Okay, okay...."she conceded. "I shouldn't have been worried...." A tone signaled the end of halftime, echoing throughout the locker room.

"Good luck!!" Kou called as the team left the locker room. 

*****************************

The ball launched without warning, sending the two midfielders scrambling after it. Aria managed to paw at the ball with a hand, but the muscular Blades player grabbed it before her. In a fluid movement, he spun and passed to the right forward. The youth dove low, towards the bottom of the sphere pool. Aria and Tidus plummeted after him. 

The blonde grabbed him by the back, allowing Aria to snatch the ball away. Before she could move an inch, the Blades' right defense crashed into her and stole it once more. Tidus charged, but only managed to graze the player's shoulder as he lunged out of the way. This player passed to Rino, then, obviously wanting him to go for a goal. Shin tackled the red head, causing him to flail the ball, but not drop it. Sashiya joined in, then, and took it from him. 

She twisted away from a tackle and kicked the ball towards the Blades' goal. The goalie caught it easily and threw it back. The ball landed in the hands of the Blades' midfielder. He busted through Rude and Shin, and then Aria, passing to their right forward. The ball was tucked under his arm as he plowed towards the Abes' goal. 

The ball was passed to Rino, who continued swimming towards the goal. None of the Abes' were close enough to tackle, yet they all scrambled after the red head anyways. Rino's green eyes were locked onto Kard's gray ones as he kicked the ball. Hard. It torpedoed towards the goal; Kard's eyes narrowed, watching it come. He waited for it.....

The blonde lunged suddenly, at a perfect position to block. It wouldn't have gotten past, but then the ball changed direction and went lower. Kard's eyes widened in realization as the ball smashed into the net. The goalie was in shock as he watched the scoreboard change the score. The blonde numbly picked up the ball. How had he done that....?!

He looked it over quickly before throwing it back in. It was just a normal ball....normal weight, everything. It wasn't the ball....it had been Rino.

Aria caught the ball and plowed through three Blades at once, going for the goal, regardless. She hugged it close as she kicked hard, propelling herself amazingly. The right defense of the Blades smashed into her suddenly. She passed to Tidus quickly; those red fools were NOT getting the ball. 

The blonde was off, swimming like a regular dolphin. He was focused on the goal....**_so _**focused, in fact, he had no idea that Rino was about to repeat their last game and send him flying from the water. The blonde's gaze flickered to the red head, a look of shock crossing his face. His green eyes gleamed with a sort of evil glee as his metal covered shoulder came flying towards Tidus. 

Rino's mouth opened widely in a silent cry as Rude and Shin sandwiched him. A huge bubble floated away from the red head as he remembered what Kard had told him, so long ago: 

__

"....I care about any team, when I'm on it....And if you go after Tidus like that again, the defense'll smash you." 

His eyes widened as his limp body drifted downwards through the water. The stupid jerk Kard had warned them. How else would they have known he'd do it again? 

Tidus was literally slicing through the water as he continued on. The goalkeeper stood ready as the blonde kicked the ball. It hit the net before she could even move to block it. 

The tone signaled the point as the frustrated goalkeeper chucked the ball to Rino. It was Tidus' turn to tackle, now, as he charged after the red head. Rino swerved and smashed into the blonde purposely, sending him flailing back through the water. The red head kept going, plowing through anyone and everyone. His green eyes stole a quick glance at the clock: 50 seconds remained. Most of the players were scattered, clambering to catch Rino as he reached the goal. 40 seconds were left, now. 

Kard was tense as Rino approached; if he pulled another spinning shot, he wouldn't be able to catch it. He floated in front of the goal, almost nervously. The blonde relaxed his muscles. Nida would be able to catch it, he told himself, and he couldn't be second best forever....

Tidus came flying out of nowhere, smashing into Rino as he kicked the ball. Yet more bubbles floated from his wide mouth as the ball flew out off course, it twisted early and luckily for Rino was headed straight for the net once more. 

Kard leapt and caught it just before the clock reached zero. Muffled screaming was audible as the fans erupted into cheers for the victorious Abes. 

Rino floated there for a moment, mind processing what was going on. His shot had missed....? But why....? It had spun too soon, that's it....but why had it spun early, like that? His shot had been messed up....someone had tackled him and messed up his shot. But who tackled him....? Tidus.

If he hadn't been in water, he would've screamed. The red head snapped, turning to lunge at the Abes' player.

Tidus hadn't even expected it, looking in the complete opposite direction. The other left-forward drove his knee into the blonde's stomach brutally, his eyes wide with pain. Rino's fingers clasped around the blonde's neck, his green eyes flaring with rage. His hands tightened around Tidus' neck; the blonde had already been in need of air, being underwater for five minutes straight, but now the demand for oxygen was escalated. A stream of bubbles floated from the blonde's mouth as the pair sank lower in the sphere pool. 

Darkness obscured his vision, his head becoming extremely light; his grasp on Rino's wrists was loosening greatly. The last thing he saw before everything went completely black was Aria and Shin swimming towards him, out of the corner of his eye. 

Aria came up behind with her hands laced together and smashed Rino up-side the head, anger burning in her dark brown eyes. Shin quickly grabbed Tidus' limp body and began to swim for the airlock. Aria dragged the dazed Rino by the hair behind her as she followed him. 

******************************

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Aria cried, throwing Rino against the wall of the locker room. They had just emerged from the airlock and Shin had laid Tidus on one of the benches. The rest of the Abes were gathered around him. The Blades, who were about as happy as Aria right now, stood around her and Rino. 

"What are you trying to do? Get us thrown out of the league?!" the captain of the Blades exclaimed, coming up beside Aria. "It was one game, jackass." Rino clenched his fist tightly, looking straight up at the team captain.

"I'm making us number one!!" he cried, flinging his arm through the air. "I should've made that shot!! We should've won!! It's all his fault!!!" He pointed a finger straight at the unconscious form of Tidus, lungs inhaling short gasping breaths. "Everything!! It all goes back to HIM!!!" The Blades' right defense grabbed him by the arms so he wouldn't charge after the blonde again.

"Cool it!!" All heads turned to see the referee of their game enter the room. "Listen up!!" he bellowed. "You!" he pointed at Sashiya, who was kneeling by Tidus' head. "The kid alright?" She nodded slowly.

"He should be." The ref nodded, changing his focus.

"You!" he pointed at Rino. He made a thumbs up, which he directed out the door. The Blades' right defense let go of the red head, reluctantly. The left forward followed the ref out of the locker room, clearly seething with anger. His green eyes flickered to Tidus as he left. The door closed behind them.

"I'm sorry about him," the captain of the Blades apologized to Aria. "I hope you don't think the rest of us are like that...." She nodded stiffly.

"Whatever." She turned and went over to stand with the rest of the Abes. Aria looked down on the blonde, massaging her hand; that Rino dupe had some sort of hard jaw.

Sashiya looked up to her from her place on the floor. The red head got up slowly and walked over to Aria. They stepped into a corner. 

"At worst he'll break another rib....?" she questioned, voice dripping with sarcasm. Aria ran a hand through her sopping hair.

"What's your point? He isn't dead." 

*******************************

Tidus' blue eyes opened slowly; his head was still light and his vision a bit cloudy. He tried to inhale, but broke into a violent coughing fit. He sat forwards, feeling a hand on his back. He choked and hacked, eyes closed tightly, eventually spitting up some water. 

"You alright?" He turned his head to the side to see Sashiya next to him.

"Yeah..." he answered a bit weakly. He looked up to see the rest of the Abes hanging over him, the locker room visible in the background. "Wait," he stuttered, "...What happened to--?"

"Rino?" Rude finished. "He's probably getting thrown out of the league as we speak. I wouldn't worry about him anymore." 

"Busted..." Kard elaborated, nodding. 

"We took the sucker out!!" Aria laughed, triumphantly. She and Shin high-fived. Tidus swung his legs over the side of the bench, sitting up straight. He felt the back of his neck with a hand.

"I _was_ getting worried, there, for a second...." he told the team.

"You should've at least **tried** to dodge, or had you forgotten last time, already?" Tidus groaned as Auron stepped into the locker room, looking not only serious but also displeased. The blonde put his head into his hand.

"Can't I ever get a break?" he mumbled into his gloved palm. He looked up suddenly. "Wait, what are you doing here?" Auron raised an eyebrow.

"He's just being his stiff self, as usual...." Sashiya mumbled.

"Stiff...?" Auron repeated. He turned and walked out of the locker room closing the door behind himself.

****************************

Tidus literally collapsed at the table in his living room, relieved that the game was over and he was still in one piece. He sighed heavily, wondering what would become of Rino. What bothered him even more was how the Blades player could develop such a hate for him when they had barely even spoken...

He slouched forwards and laid his head on his arms when the phone rang suddenly, startling him. The blonde reached across the table, hand groping blindly for the receiver. He managed to get his hand around it and bring it to the side of his head.

"Hello...?" he asked wearily.

"Come on, we won!! Don't sound so down...." Rude told him through the earpiece.

"Yeah, but I was practically drowned at the same time, if you don't remember...." he grumbled, speech muffled through his arms. "So what's up....?"

"Nothing, really.....Just if you had bothered to hang at the stadium a bit longer, you would've heard about Rino...."

"I'm not sure I want to know where this is going...." He heard Rude sigh.

"Sheesh, you wrecked my ominous little preface, there....anyhow, they're actually gonna let Rino play, still. Everybody was pretty surprised.....The Blades are pretty miffed about the whole thing, though."

"Next time we play them, he'll probably kill me for real..." the blonde mumbled miserably.

"I don't know...." Rude began, ".....He actually got quite a bit of publicity for that stunt he pulled....and, you know, if you hadn't screwed up his shot, he probably wouldn't have attacked you...." Tidus lifted his head up.

"What are you saying? He's getting noticed because he practically killed me?"

"Yep. Guy seemed pretty happy about it, too....looks like the reporters are going to be taking more notice of him from now on, and if I didn't know better, I'd say it was because of you." The blonde smirked.

"....So you think he'll leave me alone from now on?"

"There's a good chance of it...." The black haired youth laughed. "Whaddya know? I guess you lucked out."

"You can say that again," he chuckled, feeling better already. "We're playing the Duggles next week, aren't we?"

"Yup; they're good, too. We'll have to do some extra practice avoiding tackles...."

"No way!!" Tidus cried. "I still have bruises from last time!!" Rude laughed; it had been funny watching Shin tackle Tidus so many times in a row while the blonde had twisted and turned ridiculously to get away.

"So....I'll see you at practice; we have to win that Memorial Cup Tournament. Ya know, in honor of your father, and all..." The blonde could hear the smirk in his voice.

"That's not much to honor...." Tidus muttered. "Catch you later."

"Bye." Tidus hung up the phone, feeling as if a load had been lifted from his shoulders. 

"Now all I have to worry about id the Duggles..." He said this with confidence, but somewhere, deep inside, he felt that his upcoming game would hold more excitement than any other he had ever played....

~O.WA.RI~

*****************************

If you're wondering about the ominous lil ending bit.....that's the Blitzball game from the beginning of FFX!!! And if you couldn't figure that out while reading it, I don't blame you!! (I guarantee you I would've never caught that if I were reading...) Anyhow, I hope you like the story, and if you didn't.....I don't wanna hear about it!! If you feel it's worth your time, review!! If you don't feel like it, I'm not going to annoy you!!(That's only for right now; I have no promises for the future...) *bows* Thank you for reading everyone!!

QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE ABES: 

I studied the Blitzball movie from the beginning of FFX quite meticulously to see what the individual members of the Abes looked like. If I didn't describe them well in the story, re-watch that movie and you may spot some of the players I attempted to identify. Keep in mind: I assigned names, personalities, and positions based on my own random imagination. Also, if you go back and watch the movie again, you'll notice there aren't any players matching the descriptions I give of Kard and Rude. This is because they never show the goalie and also because I needed a filler defense-man in one of the scenes, for some reason I can't remember now...he ended up being a lot more than a plot device though...I'm sorry if you thought the players were dumb; at least I didn't just make up a bunch of random sh** and put myself on the team, right? ^^;;


End file.
